Method of ballasting railway-tracks.



Patented Aug. 26, |902. w. GoLnlE. METHOD 0F BALLASTING RAILWAY TRACKS.

(Application led Jan. 10, 1.902.)

` (No M odel.)

NTTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM GOLDIE, OF IVILKINSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

lVlETHOD OF BALLASTING RAILWAY-TRACKS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N o. 707,840, dated August26, 1902. Application filed January 10, 1902. Serial No. 39,147. (Nomodel.)

To (if/ 1072/071?, it mrtg/Concern):

Beit known that I, TILLIAM GOLDIE, a resident of l/Vilkiusburg,` in thecounty of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania`, have invented a new andIuseful. Improvement in Methods of Ballasting Railway-Tracks; and I dohereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionthereof.

My invention relates to the surfacing of railroad-tracks; and its objectis to provide a method for bringing the tracks to and holding them ataproper surface without the necessity of tampiug, which is the mainmeans now employed on the ordinary steam-railroads for such purposes.

In a patent granted to me June ll, 1901, No. 676,128, is described atlength the method of constructing and ballasting ordinary steamrailroadtracks and the causes which make it necessary to surface said tracks,all of which need not be repeated here. Suffice it to say that theordinary Way of surfacing a track consists inv raising the deiiectedties slightly by means of jacks and then packing or tamping the ballastunder them by means of shovels or tamping-tools. As stated in saidpatent, this method of surfacing tracks is objectionable, because it isliable to disturb the solid bed of ballast under the tie formed by theweight of the trains, and after the surfacing has been accomplished inthis manner the track necessarily rests on a fresh portion of gravel orstone, which is liable again to pack and sink under the weight of thetrains, so that repeated surfacing of the track is necessary to maintainit in good condition. In said patent is also described and claimed amethod of surfacing railroad-tracks whereby these objections areovercome, said method consisting, briefly stated, in injecting under theties and upon the permanent solid bed formed thereunder cement in aplastic state, by the setting or hardening of which a solid support forthe tie is formed. In carrying out this method in order to inject theplastic cement under the ties it is necessary that the latter be of sucha consistency that it will flow readily, and by reason of the fluiditythereof vit may happen that a train passing over the track before thisplastic mass has set or hardened will force the same from under the tie,

thereby leaving the latter Without a proper support.

It is the object of thc present invention to overcome this possibledefect in the method described in my patent aforesaid, and the saidinvention is an improvement upon said method; and it consists,generallystated.,in injecting the cement or similar material under the tie in apractically dry state and simultaneously imparting thereto sufficientmois- .tnre to insure the setting of the cement, but Anot sufficient torender the same plastic or fluid, so that after having been packedsolidly under the tie itcannotbecomedisplaced by a passing train, butwill, remain ,in that position and set or harden by reason of thcmoisture imparted thereto.

The invention also includes certain other improvements, such as raisingthe track, supporting alternate ties While injecting the cement underthe unsupported ones, and then subsequently treating the supported ties,placing dam-plates at the sides of the ties to confine the cement, and,if necessary, tamping at the sides of the ties near the end beforeinjecting the cement in order to confine the flow of the latter,moistening the cement by means of a spray of atomized water, and otherimprovements which will hereinafter be particularly set forth andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a track,illustrating the method of surfacing the same. Fig. 2 is a side View ofthe necessary apparatus and a cross-sectional view of the track. Fig. 3is a cross-section of the track, illustrating means for supporting theties; and Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section of the track on the line 5 5,Fig. 2.

In carrying out the invention I may employ any suitable quick-settingcement, such as Portland cement or cement of like character, the purposebeing to provide solid interposed beds between the ties and theballastbeds on Which the ties have been seated, which will conformVsubstantially to both the ballast-bed and the lower surface of the tie.The cement may be and preferably is mixed with sand or similar material,and the term cement as used in the specilication and claims is thereforeto be understood as including not only such cement when used alone, butalso when used with sand, lime, or even line gravel or other material.This cement is to be injected either mechanically or underduid-pressure, preferably the latter, under the ties and substantiallyin a dry state,

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being, however, slightly moistenedl -either simultaneously or before orafter it is injected, so that it will set quickly to form a solidbed,.but not sufficiently to render it so f plastic or mobile that itcan be forced from Y,it disturbs said solid bed of ballast previouslyformed under the tie.

For the practice of my invention I may employ any suitable apparatus,the drawings showing very simple apparatus suitable for the purpose; butit will be understood -that the invention is not limited in thisparticular.

The invention is illustrated as forming cement bodies or beds near theends of the ties underneath the rails, leaving the central portion ofthe ties supported merely upon the ballast, so as to prevent centerbinding. The ties 1 shown are the ordinary wooden ones,althoughtheinvention may be employed with metallic ties, if desired ornecessary. The rails 2 are generally located from fifteen to eighteeninches from the ends of the ties, and the purpose of the invention is toform a cement support under the rails, so as to give a direct supportthereto. The ties rest upon the usual ballast-bed 3, and the ballast isfilled in between the tracks, as at 4, which interfilling extends uptoward or to the tops of the ties. Anysuitable mechanicalsupport forholding the track to the desired level at different points may beemployed, such as the shims or wedges 5, which may be placed under theends of the ties, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, or may be placed betweenthe ties and the rails, as shown and described in the patent abovereferred to. These shims are simply two taperingr pieces of wood, onebeing inserted under the tie and the other being driven between it andthe tie or the ballastbed, thereby raising the tie and giving asufficiently-strong support to sustain the track while the cement bedsare being formed under the ties. In place of these shims ordinarylifting-jacks or other means may be employed, and said jacks may ofcourse be used to raise the track to permit the placing of the shims 5thereunder. These shims or other means are inserted under 'the ends ofany suitable number of ties to give the temporary support to the track,and the cement beds are then formed under the other ties. The lballast 4between the ties forms side walls to conline the space under each tie,and thereby confine the iiow of the cement; but if this is notsuiiicient the operator will, after the tie has been raised andsupported on the shims, tam p the ballast in at the sides of the tienear the end thereof, as at 6, and also on the inside of the rail, as at7, and will also tamp the same under the outer end of the tie, as at 8,thereby leaving a space or chamber 9 underneath the tie under the rail,which space is to be filled with the cement. The tamping in of theballast at the points 6, 7, and 8 will to a great extent confine theflow of the cement. The workman will then place at the side of the tieat lthe surface of the ballast 4, underneath the rail, the dam-plate 10,thereby forming a dam to prevent the cement from {iowing baekwardly fromunder the tie. This dam-plate is simply a metal plate of the properwidth and length and is provided with a sharpened edge or, better still,with prongs 11, which is or are driven into the side of the tie to holdthe plate in place. The dam-plate is also provided with a nippledopening 12,

to which is secured the outer end of a hose or pipe 13, leading from theinjecting apparatus. If necessary or desired, a similar damplate, butwithout the nippled opening 12, may be placed on the opposite side ofthe tie to prevent the cement from being forced out at said oppositeside. It is also desirable to insert under the end of the tie and intothe chamber'Q a drainage mold-bar 14, which is merely a long barinserted under the tie for a greater distance than the cement bed is tobe formed, so as to insure the formationof a drainage-canal 15 forconducting away any Water that may collect under the middle of the tie,thereby preventing rotting of the latter.

The apparatus illustrated in the drawings for injecting the cementconsists of the injector pipe or hose 13, connected to the nippledopening ot' the plate l0 or otherwise suitably projecting into thechamber 0r space 9 under the tie, a funnel or other suitable =vessel 16communicating with said pipe or hose, and a suitable source offluid-pressure,

y a stand 19 for this purpose, which stand, however,V is merelydiagrammatic. The fluidpressure for forcing the material under the tiemay be either air or steam.; but as the latter is the easier to generateI prefer to use the same. The injector pipe or hose 13 has a bend orelbow 21 just below the funnel 16, and the steam-pipe 17 projects intothe injector pipe or hose 13 at this bend and has its end lying belowthe opening from the funnel 16, so that the steam will act on theprinciple of an ordinary injector and draw the cement out of the funnel16 and force it through the hose or pipe 13 down underneath the tie. Anysuitable means may be used for slightly moistening the said cement as itis forced under the tie; but I prefer to introduce a small water-pipe 2Ointo the steam-pipe, as shown,

so that the iiow of the steam or other iuid- IOO IIO

pressure will draw a fine stream of water into the pipe 17 and at thesame time atomize it and thoroughly mingle it with the cement as thelatter is forced by the fluid-pressure under the tie.

In carrying out the method the cement or the mixed cement and sand orgravel are placed in a dry state in the funnel 16. The cover 1S isclosed down, and after the apparatus has been properly connected to thedamplate 10 fluid-pressure, such as steam, is admitted through the pipe17, the valve 2l in the water-pipe being opened. The flow of the steamor other pressure draws a stream of water through the pipe 20, atomizesthe same, forces the same out at the end of the steam-pipe 17, andsimultaneously draws the dry cement and other material down out of thefunnel 1G, mixing it with the atomized water and forcing the mixed massthrough the pipe 13 into the space or chamber 9 underneath the tie. Thecement is thus injected in a slightly-moistened condition between thetie and the solid ballast-bed 3, spreading out under the same and beingconfined by the dam-plates and the walls or sides ofthe ballast etbetween the ties, thereby completely filling such space and conformingto the ballast-bed 3 and the bottom and sides of the tie, so forming asolid interposed bed underneath the tie which gives support to the tiefor its full width and conforms substantially t0 the under face of thetie and to the top face of the ballast. The fluid-pressure is maintaineduntil the entire space under the tie is filled with a solid mass of veryslightly moistened cement, which mass is not sufficiently fluid to bedisplaced by a passing train, but which contains sufficient moisture torapidly set. The apparatus is then disconnected, the dam-plates l0 andmoldingbar 14 removed, and the method repeated on other ties. After allof the unsupported ties have been thus treated and the cement has setthe shims 5 are removed from the alternate ties, and they in turn aretreated in the manner above described.

In the use of the invention the regular solid compacted beds of ballastunder the ties formed by the Weight of the passing trains are not in anyway disturbed, but instead of that a solid support conforming toanyirregularities in such ballast-bed on the under face of the tie isprovided, this bed being of the full width of the tie and giving a broadsolid support thereto. The main difficulties due to tamping ballastunder the ties are overcome, and at the same time the tracks can be keptin continuous use, the cement mass forced under the ties being of suchconsistency that it cannot be displaced by the weight of the passingtrain,but such mass nevertheless containing sufficient moisture to setand form solid beds. The cement intermingles with sand or gravel ballastand forms a mass having irregular surfaces, so that it is free from theobjection of ordinary sand or gravel ballast, in that the passing trainssuck in under the smooth tiesl and force out sand, thereby renderingtravel disagreeable and gradually carrying off and loosening the ballastand making resurfacing necessary.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. The method of surfacing railroad-tracks, consisting in injectingcement under the ties to form supporting-beds therefor, said cementbeing moistened sufficiently to cause the same to set but notsufficiently to render the same fluid or mobile.

2. The method of surfacing railroad-tracks, consisting in injectingcement under the ties to form supporting beds therefor, andsimultaneously therewith supplying suflicient moisture thereto to causethe same to set but not to become fiuid orpmobile.

3. The method of surfacing railroad-tracks, consisting in injectingcement under the ties to form supporting-beds therefor, andsimultaneously therewith moistening` the same with a spray of atomizedwater.

4. The method of surfacing railroad-tracks, consisting in raising thetie and then injecting cement under the same to form supporting-bedstherefor, said cement being slightly moistened to cause the same to setbut not sufficiently to cause the same to become fluid or mobile.

5. The method ofsurfacingrailroad-tracks, consisting in tamping theballast under the ends of the ties, and injecting cement under the tiesunderneath the rails to form supporting-beds therefor, said cement beingmoisp tened sufficiently to cause it to set but not sufficiently tocause it to iioW or become plastic.

G. The method ofsurfacingrailroad-tracks, consisting in placingdam-plates at the sides of the tics underneath the rails and injectingcement under the ties to form supportingbeds therefor, said cement beingmoistened sufficiently to cause it to set but not sufficiently to causeit to fiow or become plastic.

7. The method of surfacing railroad-tracks, consisting in injectingunder the ties by means of duid-pressure cement to form supporting-bedstherefor, and simultaneously therewith admitting a small stream of waterto the fluid-pressure pipe whereby the water is atomized and mingledwith the cement.

S. The method of surfacing railroad-tracks, which consists in injectingunder the ties by means of Huid-pressure cement in a practically drystate, and simultaneously therewith drawing by means of saidHuid-pressure a small stream of water into the duid-pressure pipewhereby the water is atomized and mixed with the cement.

In testimony whereof I, the said VILLIAM GOLDIE, have hereunto set myhand.

WILLIAM GOLDIE.

Vitnesses:

F. W. WINTER, ROBERT C. To'rTEN.

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